My recommendation would be to find people who have both setups and take a ride in them. It is so subjective for someone to say "Yeah, I like a firm ride and I want to autox." Well, my opinion of a firm ride is probably a lot different from your opinion of a firm ride. There is a also a lot more to suspension than just springs/shocks or coilovers. You've got to take into account bushings, tires, wheels and everything else. Hell, the setup on my car can be dramatically changed if I adjust my damping, tire/wheel combo, alignment, sway bar settings or ride heights. My advice is to look around and talk to different people to find a car that is similar to the setup you would like to have and then take a ride in it.